Citigroup Lowers Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Price Target to $168.00

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) had its price objective reduced by analysts at Citigroup from $189.00 to $168.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s target price points to a potential upside of 8.23% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on FERG. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Ferguson from $211.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Zelman & Associates cut shares of Ferguson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.64.

Ferguson Price Performance

NASDAQ:FERG opened at $155.23 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Ferguson has a one year low of $152.52 and a one year high of $225.63. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $176.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $190.62. The stock has a market cap of $31.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.63, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by ($0.06). Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Ferguson will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Ferguson

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FERG. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ferguson by 33.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 32.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,359,000 after acquiring an additional 7,862 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 14.0% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 491,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,504,000 after purchasing an additional 60,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 47.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 245,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,652,000 after buying an additional 78,775 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

About Ferguson

Ferguson plc distributes plumbing and heating products in the United States and Canada. It offers plumbing and heating solutions to customers in the residential, commercial, civil/infrastructure, and industrial end markets. The company also provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, fabrication, and others, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning products under the Ferguson brand name.